Tracfone Iphone SE3 ... Is it really that bad?

**NMBlue** · 11-08-2023, 04:28 PM

Hi all,

Former Tracfone user and current "helper" to my mother's Tracfone account here...so I know most things TF are not easy, but they are inexpensive.

Anyway, my elderly mom is finally ready for a iPhone (bought her an iPad a few years ago so she's built up her confidence.) She currently has an Alcatel flip on TF but it is slowly dying and asked me to look into an iPhone.

I thought I'd get her the new SE but after reading the reviews about it not being easy to activate, I'm having second thoughts. Is that a real problem with that phone or do the reviews just reflect the general difficulty of dealing with TF?

Thanks for your help!

**Serial Port** · 11-08-2023, 04:46 PM

My mom (80 years old) has been using her iPad and her iPhone SE (3rd generation) without problems since her prior iPhone SE (2nd generation). If your mom is comfortable using the iPad, this should be a good combination for her as well. Even if there are some issues for some to activate it, it does work well once activated. It will be an easier transition if she uses an iPhone and an iPad. For most folks, TF is the bigger issue and not the iPhone/tablet.

**SlowLoris** · 11-08-2023, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by NMBlue

I thought I'd get her the new SE but after reading the reviews about it not being easy to activate, I'm having second thoughts. Is that a real problem with that phone or do the reviews just reflect the general difficulty of dealing with TF?

I can confirm that at least as of 2 months ago, it was a real problem. Tracfone had added the IMEIs to its database as eSIMs, so self activation would not work. Most of the customer service agents could also not get it to work. I have not heard of any recent reports, so maybe the devices they are selling now don't have that problem.

**NMBlue** · 11-08-2023, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by SlowLoris

I can confirm that at least as of 2 months ago, it was a real problem. Tracfone had added the IMEIs to its database as eSIMs, so self activation would not work. Most of the customer service agents could also not get it to work. I have not heard of any recent reports, so maybe the devices they are selling now don't have that problem.

Yes, that's exactly my fear! Thanks for the info.

**sillyette** · 11-08-2023, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by NMBlue

Hi all,

Former Tracfone user and current "helper" to my mother's Tracfone account here...so I know most things TF are not easy, but they are inexpensive.

Anyway, my elderly mom is finally ready for a iPhone (bought her an iPad a few years ago so she's built up her confidence.) She currently has an Alcatel flip on TF but it is slowly dying and asked me to look into an iPhone.

I thought I'd get her the new SE but after reading the reviews about it not being easy to activate, I'm having second thoughts. Is that a real problem with that phone or do the reviews just reflect the general difficulty of dealing with TF?

Thanks for your help!

I don't know if you want to read through this thread - https://www.howardforums.com/showthr...one-SE-3rd-Gen - not sure if the problem has been solved by now.

**tftess** · 11-08-2023, 10:18 PM

I upgraded my TF iPhone SE2 to TF iPhone SE3 in May. I bought it online with Rewards points covering most of the purchase. They did not require a service plan be purchased with it, at that time.

I activated the SE3 with a transfer, phone number and all buckets, from the SE2. It went through without any trouble at all.

**brg** · 11-09-2023, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by tftess

I upgraded my TF iPhone SE2 to TF iPhone SE3 in May. I bought it online with Rewards points covering most of the purchase. They did not require a service plan be purchased with it, at that time.

I activated the SE3 with a transfer, phone number and all buckets, from the SE2. It went through without any trouble at all.

Same here. Moved from an SE2 to an SE3. Did it using the online portal. And mine could have been potentially more problematic because my SE3 was a StraightTalk device "rebranded" to TracFone. Then again, perhaps that's why it worked.

**pitflyer** · 11-10-2023, 06:05 AM

Did both of you activate the physical esim (is there one that still comes with it if you buy from TracFone). I purchased one with points but can't recall if the sim envelope was attached to the box now.

**tftess** · 11-10-2023, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by pitflyer

Did both of you activate the physical esim (is there one that still comes with it if you buy from TracFone). I purchased one with points but can't recall if the sim envelope was attached to the box now.

Yes, I activated with the physical sim that was included with the phone. (I have, since then, activated the esim with a different carrier, to make sure it works.)

**brg** · 11-10-2023, 05:19 PM

I also activated the physical SIM (not "physical eSIM" -- ain't no such animal.

) that was included with the phone (which in my case was a Straight Talk phone).

**Slepy** · 11-11-2023, 04:50 AM

The Tracfone iPhone SE3 issue is with the "new batch" after July 2023 sold by Tracfone. The previous ones from release till then had no issues. The Tracfone store ran out of iPhone SE3 around the beginning of July. Around the end of July, they got a new supply and that's when all the activation troubles began.

My theory is they grabbed the supply from the other sub-brand StraightTalk/TotalWireless/SimpleMobile, but didn't properly enter the IMEI in their database for use on Tracfone.

If you want an iPhone and avoid the headache, you can buy a factory unlocked one from Apple directly. Those will activate just fine.

Also, the iPhone SE3 sold by other sub-brands I mentioned activated fine on the respective services. There's an iPhone SE3 $49.99 + service deal on Straight Talk/Walmart right now and those are activating fine from the slickdeals thread.

**PaulCrawhorne** · 11-11-2023, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by pitflyer

physical esim

No such thing, a SIM is either pSIM or eSIM only

**pitflyer** · 11-11-2023, 12:50 PM

Yes as corrected already I meant physical sim (psim) or esim. Thanks for the data points. Now to go find my TracIphone 3 SE and make sure the psim is on the box!

**NMBlue** · 11-12-2023, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by Slepy

The Tracfone iPhone SE3 issue is with the "new batch" after July 2023 sold by Tracfone. The previous ones from release till then had no issues. The Tracfone store ran out of iPhone SE3 around the beginning of July. Around the end of July, they got a new supply and that's when all the activation troubles began.

My theory is they grabbed the supply from the other sub-brand StraightTalk/TotalWireless/SimpleMobile, but didn't properly enter the IMEI in their database for use on Tracfone.

If you want an iPhone and avoid the headache, you can buy a factory unlocked one from Apple directly. Those will activate just fine.

Also, the iPhone SE3 sold by other sub-brands I mentioned activated fine on the respective services. There's an iPhone SE3 $49.99 + service deal on Straight Talk/Walmart right now and those are activating fine from the slickdeals thread.

That's interesting information about the supply. Thanks!

I realize that buying an unlocked phone would probably be the safest option...albeit not the cheapest.

As far as the ST option, my mom has literally years of service, thousands and thousands of minutes in her TF "bank" so I don't want to switch her. For the past 5 years, I've bought her a 30 minute card and added the 365 days of service add on and that's all she needs for the year!

Thanks again for the info!

**Slepy** · 11-13-2023, 07:10 AM

Originally Posted by NMBlue

As far as the ST option, my mom has literally years of service, thousands and thousands of minutes in her TF "bank" so I don't want to switch her.

That deal for a new iPhone SE3 is great. You don't need to switch her to ST. You just need to tough it out for two months with a new number, and get it unlocked. After that, you can re-brand it to Tracfone with the original SIM, or get a BYOD kit and use that SIM to re-brand to Tracfone and then move over your Mom's existing service.

Also, it might be possible to buy the phones from the other sub-brands and re-brand first without activation. Some people were doing that when the iPhone SE3 first dropped to $150 at StraightTalk. That of course is slightly difficult, but most CSRs can handle it.

https://www.howardforums.com/showthr...7#post17253807